It seems too soon, but we fall back this weekend. These days seem to instantly end earlier with mornings that cry for us to stay in bed longer. Seems like high time to forget about gardening, right? Wrong. Pick yourself up off the ground and we can have a chat about it.
Hopefully you've gotten your yard all cleaned up from the debris of fallen leaves and the dead and dormant remnants of flowers. On the other hand, if you haven't, I suggest you finish reading and get your booty outside. Leaving large piles of leaves is an open invitation for diseases. If you insist on keeping the debris, mulch it around your perennials and shrubs as a winter barrier, just get it off the lawn.
Now that you've cleaned your bed out of annuals, dust off your flower thinking cap and start to dream up a plan for spring bulbs. Spring bulbs are glorious because they are like a sneak peak that spring is coming. That the days will, in fact, get longer. The sun will start shining and the temperature will begin to increase. People will wear shorts at the first sight of a 50 degree day. The peaking of spring bulbs through the dirt starts to tell our brains to put away the parkas and dig out the flip-flops.
So this fall, use these helpful tips to get you started on the path for glorious spring blooms.
When choosing bulbs, choose a mixture of color. Create a dazzling array of color that will compliment each other in your yard or garden bed.
Plan, plan, plan. Don't make yourself crazy trying to come up with a specific layout for where to plant your bulbs. Choose an area and start to plant. With bulbs all in the same general height range will blend together beautifully. If you're gutsy enough, literally toss your bulbs down and let them grow where they lay.
You've got options when it comes to flower choices. As stunning as a large mass of tulips can be, they are even more stunning in front of a mass of hyacinth and daffodils. Drop in some allium for unique balls (literally) of bright color.
Bigger is better, right? The same idea can be applied to large quantities of flowers. The larger masses of tulips and flowers the eye can see, the more impressive the garden is. Don't be afraid to plant your spring bulbs in large quantities.
Still need some inspiration?
Check out the Keukenhof website. Keukenhof is known as The Garden of Europe, home to the largest flower garden in the world. This year alone, they have planted more than 7 million tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth bulbs in preparation for spring 2013.
